Probable paratuberculosis in a Sicilian ass.
A presumptive diagnosis of paratuberculosis was made in a Sicilian ass on the basis of a history of chronic diarrhea and weight loss, pasture exposure to a heifer with paratuberculosis confirmed by bacterial culture of feces, postmortem identification of granulomatous inflammation of the intestine containing acid-fast organisms, the absence of acid-fast organisms in extraenteric tissues, and the absence of exposure to tuberculosis. The literature on paratuberculosis in equids is reviewed. The potential for cross-species transmission is emphasized. Justification for consideration of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis infection in the differential diagnoses of equine granulomatous enteritis is discussed.
Dierckins
M S
MS
Bristol Veterinary Service, SC, Union Grove, WI 53182.
Sherman
D M
DM
Gendron-Fitzpatrick
A
A
D000818:Animals; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000209:etiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D010283:Paratuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D010527:Perissodactyla